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Aug 7 Booktubathon Wrap Up

The Booktubathon is done! Obviously, I didn't finish all the books on my TBR. I think the only time that I would've been able to do this was if I was still in high school and could dedicate all of my time to reading. That said, I did still read two books and read about half of a third, which I'm pretty proud of. Both the books that I did read also ended up being 5-star reads, so overall I would consider it a successful week.

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

I read History Is All You Left Me to complete the first challenge to let a coin toss decide your first read, and it had beat out More Happy Than Not (I do still plan on reading this later this month).

History Is All You Left Me is about a young man named Griffin whose life has started to spiral after his first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident. Even though Theo had moved away and had a new boyfriend, Griffin had always thought they would end up together. What makes things worse is that the only one who understands his grief is Theo's most recent boyfriend, Jackson. No matter how much they try and support each other, Griffin continues to downward spiral and starts to lose parts of himself. Griffin must confront his history in order to rebuild for the future. This book is own-voices both for the gay representation and the OCD representation.

Leave it to Adam Silvera to leave me so EMOTIONAL! This book pulled at my heart-strings at all the right times and had me engrossed the entire way through. The portrayal of Griffin's grief felt very real for the kind of relationship that he had had with Theo and the events leading up to his death. I thought that Griffin telling the story by talking to Theo in the "Today" chapters broken up by the "History" chapters added so many layers to the story that I couldn't imagine it being told as well any other way. I loved that there was no "magic fix" for Griffin's compulsions and that it will continue to be a journey that Griffin goes on. The ending, while not happy, still felt very hopeful and was a realistic, human way to wrap up a story of loss and finding yourself again after that loss.

I absolutely loved History Is All You Left Me and gave it 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I had initially chosen The Book Thief to complete the read and watch a book to movie adaptation, however, I wasn't able to watch the movie in time. I also read most of it on audiobook, but it still counts as a completed book!

For those of you who don’t know, The Book Thief follows the story of Liesel, a young German girl during World War II whose book-stealing and story-telling helps not only her family but also the Jewish man they are hiding. And the whole book is told from the perspective of Death.

Overall, I gave The Book Thief 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.

Amy and Rodgers Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (168 pages)

Lastly, I was able to get through 168 pages of Amy and Rodgers Epic Detour before the end of the Booktubathon. I did end up finishing it early afternoon yesterday, but you will have to wait for my August Wrap Up to hear my thoughts. Spoiler alert: I now want to do a cross-country road trip.

That's all for my BookTubeathon Wrap Up! If you participated in the Booktubathon, what did you read? Let me know in the comments below.

Until next time, have a lovel rest of your day and read something awesome!